TWO of Scotland's major roads were closed last night after serious road crashes that left at least one person dead.
Fort William was effectively cut off from the south following a fatal road accident on the A82 near the villages of Onich and North Ballachulish yesterday afternoon. Motorists faced a 150-mile detour via the A9.
By teatime police were warning motorists to avoid the area if at all possible as the road would be closed for several hours. A spokesman added: "There are no possible diversions at this location."
The accident, which was reported just after 3.35pm, is understood to have involved a motorcycle.
For those coming from the south who needed to complete the nine miles into Fort William, the only alternative was to head back down through Glencoe and eastwards along Loch Tay through Aberfeldy to the A9 at Ballinluig and then cut off at Dalwhinnie and over by Loch Laggan to Spean Bridge before rejoining the A82 on the Inverness to Fort William section.
Stewart Maclean of the A82 Partnership, which has been campaigning to get the road upgraded, said: "Once again this illustrates how vulnerable the local community and economy is to any closure of that road.
"Unless you go round by the A9, which isn't really a realistic alternative, Fort William is cut off from the south. I also understand the location of this accident is close to the scene of another fatal crash a few years ago.
"The only long-term solution is a major upgrade of that bit of road."
Meanwhile, the A84 near the village of Balquhidder, Perthshire, was closed to motorists travelling in both directions after a serious road crash yesterday afternoon.
Police advised drivers to avoid the area and cordoned off the north and southbound lanes of the route for several hours while they attended to the scene.
A spokesman for the Police Scotland Stirling area was unable to confirm whether anyone had been injured.
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